“Apple Computer’s announcement last week that it plans to open a new call center in Bangalore, India, has stirred the debate, once again, over outsourcing of high tech U.S. jobs. With the move, Apple joins Dell, which last year opened a call center in India amid much criticism, and IBM which is increasingly moving jobs to the subcontinent and has said it may employ as many as 50,000 workers there in the coming years. ‘Apple has gained millions of new customers in the last year and we are building a call center in India to help meet our growing service and support needs,’ said Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesperson,” Gene Koprowski reports for MacNewsWorld.

“Apple tried to put the best face on the project, saying that though it was building a facility in Bangalore in which to locate the call center, it isn’t planning to cut any existing American jobs,” Koprowski reports. “Its U.S.-based call centers in Austin and Sacramento will continue to grow, Apple said, and the Banagalore facility will be staffed by local Apple employees. Apple claims the level of service will be the same as that which is provided by its other call centers. It is expected that Apple will initially have 1,500 people in India, with 3,000 workers by the end of 2007.”

More in the full article here.

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